9/11 attacks cited in new NY courthouse security plan

NEW YORK (AP) — Authorities repeatedly cited the September 11 terrorist attacks as they announced a $10 million security improvement to Manhattan’s newest federal courthouse.

Chief Judge Loretta Preska announced the plans Monday in a ceremony in the courthouse lobby several blocks from the World Trade Center.

She said the court had been trying to secure the funds since the attacks. The money will be used to build a 4,500-square-foot glass and steel structure adjacent to the courthouse where court officers will screen people before they enter.

Construction is scheduled to begin in October and be completed in April 2015.

The courthouse opened in the mid-1990s. It is adjacent to another federal courthouse that was built in the 1930s and was recently refurbished. Several terrorism trials have occurred in both courthouses.